Los Angeles, California: Prepare for a cosmic journey as the realms of fantasy literature and progressive space rock collide in The End Of All Songs - Part 2, the final installment of the ambitious collaboration between visionary fantasy writer/art rock icon Michael Moorcock and the acclaimed space rock collective Spirits Burning, led by Don Falcone, with godfatherly guidance from Blue Öyster Cult’s Albert Bouchard.
Moorcock, widely proclaimed among the 50 greatest British writers since 1945, brings his unique narrative prowess and artistic vision to the forefront of The End Of All Songs - Part 2. Beyond his celebrated literary works, Moorcock has left an indelible mark on the rock world, lending his talents to iconic bands such as Hawkwind, Blue Öyster Cult, and various solo projects.
Moorcock's creative synergy finds a kindred spirit in Don Falcone, the driving force behind Spirits Burning. With a musical career spanning decades, Falcone has been a consistent trailblazer in the space rock genre with the original Melting Euphoria and his Spaceship Eyes solo project, and in 2025, Stairway Press published his musical memoir, One Of The Spirits Burning (A Musical Memoir), which includes two chapters on the Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock albums.
Set for release on August 29, the album is based - like its predecessors - upon Moorcock’s Dancers at the End of Time trilogy. But whereas those earlier sets opened with the 19th century poems that Moorcock started each book with, Falcone took a very different approach this time around.
“I turned to my Dancers hardback, which has all three books collected together. There is a prologue there that Mike wrote. I used some of those lines for verses.”
Falcone also created new lines that included the titles of each book – How Do We Survive An ‘An Alien Heat,’ How Do We Free From These ‘Hollow Lands,’ and When Will We Hear ‘The End Of All Songs?’ The result, “When Will We Hear,” previews the album today, as Spirit Burning's new single.
SINGLE: https://orcd.co/whenwillwehear
Michael Moorcock & engineer Nick Pellicciotto, vocal/harmonica session in Texas (photo by Linda Moorcock)
The track features Moorcock at his very sharpest, and Falcone at his most ingenious.
“I decided to have Mike take the lead during the choruses and post chorus. During mixing, I added some sizzle delay to the end of some of his lines, so that his word trails would sound percussive, spacey, haunting.
“And I love Mike’s performance of his prologue text that is about Jherek’s father, Lord Jagged:
“And a thirst took one of these people, Much to his own astonishment, And because he was immersed, We have a story to tell.”
Of the remainder of the album, Falcone continues, “We hadn’t finished the story in the previous album, given the book length, the remaining story to tell. It begged the question: When would we really hear the end of all songs? For me, multiple answers: reaching the end of this cycle of albums; finishing the third book and closing the story of Jherek and Amelia; closing the decade+ collaboration with Al (Bouchard) and Mike (Moorcock). I even provided an answer within the lyrics: “When we resume our dance at the end of time, when we complete our dance at the end of time”; where “we” represents each musician on the album, and each listener too.
Falcone continues: “We have been immersed in this project for over a decade, and it’s exhilarating to see it complete with such a great selection of songs and the musicians who brought them to life.” These include familiar faces Paul Rudolph (Pink Fairies), David Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) and Chas Cronk (The Strawbs), new crew members Ross the Boss (The Dictators), Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond), and Mr. Dibs (Hawklords), and many more.
Michael Moorcock writes “This beautiful musical collaboration between a group of outstanding musicians and myself is unprecedented. The conception and the realisation, in which every artist adds their own particular interpretation, is glorious.
“I can think of no other artistic project as complex or as beautifully created as Don Falcone's Spirits Burning group. It is as successful as it is complex. It is, in my view, a work of genius. This project deserves the highest possible praise. All I can add to this now is to offer my most enthusiastic thanks. This will stand as a high point in our musical history!”
Albert Bouchard pretending to play sax in his New York studio (courtesy Albert Bouchard)
Albert Bouchard adds: “After having time to work on this album in the beginning, I took a long break as I had more commitments. Don also took a break to write his book. When I returned, we worked intensely for about three weeks to make sure every track was optimized, Trading files and emails.”
“Several times a day. The tracks that came out of those three weeks are some of my best work with SB. My favorites are “Bring Back the Living” with Ross The Boss (and Paul Rudolph) on guitar, “The Sun Had Risen” and “Dancers End.” I feel this record is one the strongest of the series, as it should be.
“End with a bang!”
CD/VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=spirits+burning+%26+micahel+moorcock&options
DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/theendofallsongspart2
Track listing
1. When Will We Hear?
2. Remember Those Who Have Died (At Least Once)
3. The Ballad Of Lord Jagged Of Canaria
4. Forward To Go Back
5. Seven Days Of Infinity (Treat The World As A Canvas)
6. A Flurry Of New Worlds
7. Bring Back The Living
8. As If Possessed
9. On Her Island
10. Reading and Writing and Playing
11. There Used To Be A Time
12. Put The Kettle On
13. Peace and Love
14. The Sun Had Risen
15. The Parade (Before The Wedding)
16. The Dancers End
